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Thanks, Ellen, for the memories. From one who grew up in Nigeria and Thailand (a majority of the early years up-country) early to mid 1960's, long before many of my haunts had been influenced by The West. We did, as you did, what you have to do.

Were you able to find any kosher restaurants there? I want to go but am a bit concerned about my dietary restrictions.

I know, I know. It's amusing just to think about the idea of a kosher restaurant in Mongolia, but I'll take the opportunity to point out a couple of things about world travel for those with dietary restrictions: It's definitely true that there's a point of restrictedness (is that a word?) at which it becomes supremely challenging to travel outside of places that really cater to you. But it can always be done if you're willing to form a group. I probably couldn't take one Hasidic Jew to Mongolia on a tour, because at that level of observance that person would be very particular about what knife has touched what product, and what bowl has been used for what, but if a group of 12 wanted to go I'm pretty certain that I could set it up--we'd have our own cook (as we did), vegetarian-only food (they'd have to eat a lot of noodles, and some mayonnaise too!), and other approved arrangements. At a lower level of observance, it becomes even easier in direct proportion to the lessening of restrictions: I can take strictly Conservative and even some Modern Orthodox Jews to Nepal, for example, as part of a mixed group because they tend to be satisfied with "no meat" as a sufficient level of kashruth so I can just tell the cook, "No meat." And, while I don't keep kosher, I did grow up in a kosher home, know the dietary laws, and still observe some of the practices of kashruth. And this has never been a problem for me traveling anywhere in the world--except maybe North Carolina.

[edited for clarity]

You mean Chabad doesn't have an outpost in UB?

Seriously, though....Ellen, I'm loving your writing. I can't wait for the next segment.

Edited by bloviatrix, 14 September 2003 - 12:05 AM.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

I'm sorry none of her magazine travel writing is available online. There's some great stuff by Ellen about Africa, Alaska, Nepal, and various other far-off destinations in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine, but the online archive got ditched when Newsweek bought the magazine so the only way you can see that stuff is if you have the back issues. Likewise, Conde Nast's Concierge.com no longer maintains an archive of its "Off The Beaten Path" pieces, of which she wrote too many to list here.

As Ellen explained in the Rogue River pieces, it has only been as of this year that she has had a digital camera that can withstand the kinds of extremes that her trips involve and that possesses the battery, memory, and resolution capacities necessary to take enough images at a high enough quality level for potential magazine or newspaper use. While those older Nepal photos were taken as slides, and while we do have a slide scanner, there's just not the same level of convenience and immediacy when you have to deal with processing, selecting, and scanning slides. So, with her current equipment, maybe we'll be lucky enough to see a lot more stuff like this going forward.

Chabad (which, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is a major Orthodox Jewish organization with an ambitious world outreach program directed at Jews in some pretty remote regions) doesn't have an outpost in UB, but it wouldn't be terribly surprising if it did. Chabad has a strong program in Central Asia, including in Kazakhstan (which is just to the west of Mongolia) and Uzbekistan. There are Chabad centers in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong (one of these days maybe Ellen will tell us her unusual story about the Jewish community in Hong Kong, but not on this thread). You might also be surprised to learn that Chabad hosts the world's largest Passover seder in, of all places, Kathmandu. They even have a Chabad center in Vermont.

As Ellen explained in the Rogue River pieces, it has only been as of this year that she has had a digital camera that can withstand the kinds of extremes that her trips involve and that possesses the battery, memory, and resolution capacities necessary to take enough images at a high enough quality level for potential magazine or newspaper use.

Fat Guy, what digital equipment does Ellen use? I didn't see specifics in those pieces or on her site - but did find a big gorgeous pic of bacon!

The digital body I use is a Canon D60 SLR, which is part of the EOS system -- meaning it can take any Canon EOS lens from the film-camera series. I also schlep a lot of additional equipment -- half of what I carry on a trip can be camera stuff -- such as lenses (for deep in-country travel I rely mainly on the workhorse EF 50 mm F1.4 USM lens, and a 100-300/F4.5-5.6 EF USM Zoom for longer shots), strobes (two Canon 550EX Speedlites plus the ST E2 Wireless Controller), filters (circular polarizing, etc.), sometimes a tripod or monopod, cable release, lens-cleaning stuff, memory cards (on a 6 megapixel camera you need a few 1GB CF cards if you want to take 1000+ photos), high-capacity batteries (I definitely need to get one more of these; I wound up using a lot more juice than I thought I would, because everybody I photographed wanted to look at the photos on the camera's digital screen and that's a major drain on power -- I was fearful I'd run out towards the end of the trip but I made it home with 1/4 of my last battery remaining), film cameras as backup (this was a short trip so I only took one of my smaller Yashica T4 cameras, but on a longer trip I might take my Leica film SLR as well because, well, even if you find yourself in the middle of a war a Leica is still going to work just fine), film and batteries for those backup cameras, sometimes a few disposable cameras to give to people so they can take photos for me when I'm absent, and a special padded camera backpack to hold it all. Although, having looked over that somewhat daunting equipment list, I should emphasize that 90% of the shots one gets can usually be had with just the camera-body and a lens, and all that other stuff really just buys you 10% additional capability (an important 10% if you sell and exhibit photos, but not meaningful if you're shooting for personal use). And of course no matter how much gear you carry, you'll always bump into someone who's carrying twice as much!

And, while I don't keep kosher, I did grow up in a kosher home, know the dietary laws, and still observe some of the practices of kashruth. And this has never been a problem for me traveling anywhere in the world--except maybe North Carolina.

Don't be ragging on North Cackalacky, now! Just because we're the second leading pork producing state in the country, we acknowledge only pork barbecue as being worthy, and we're the former home to the KKK -- this shouldn't lead one to conclude staying kosher is difficult here. Er, never mind.

When Ellen and I travel together, we eat in all sorts of places, and her dietary restrictions are never a problem. It's more about attitude than about the actual restrictions. There's an unfortunate tendency for people with dietary restrictions (be they religious, health-related, moral, or, as is the case most of the time, just completely crazy) to think the world owes them some sort of compliance -- that their dietary restrictions and preferences occupy the highest rung of the ladder of moral considerations, higher than, oh, respect for other cultures, etiquette, and the like. That's a bad attitude for a traveler to have, because the farther afield you go in this world the more you have to get with the "when in Rome" program. But, for example, the North Carolina crack refers to the days we've spent with Varmint searching for barbecue in NC. Ellen doesn't eat pork. NC barbecue equals pork. But she has always come along for the ride, enjoyed the adventure, and indeed been an active participant.

Chabad (which, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is a major Orthodox Jewish organization with an ambitious world outreach program directed at Jews in some pretty remote regions) doesn't have an outpost in UB, but it wouldn't be terribly surprising if it did. Chabad has a strong program in Central Asia, including in Kazakhstan (which is just to the west of Mongolia) and Uzbekistan. There are Chabad centers in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong (one of these days maybe Ellen will tell us her unusual story about the Jewish community in Hong Kong, but not on this thread). You might also be surprised to learn that Chabad hosts the world's largest Passover seder in, of all places, Kathmandu. They even have a Chabad center in Vermont.

ever been to the jewish enclave in kaifeng? forget what province offhand, but it's right near the shaolin temple.

Damn! I knew I shouldn't have looked at that thread before lunch! #%@*!Sometimes good barbecue just makes me want to weep tears of joy, and I was tearing up just looking at those pictures and reading what Ellen and you posted. Now if I can just get through the next couple of hours [stomach rumbles]...

I wonder if those old motorcycles have any value to collectors in the U.S.

Unless I am greatly mistaken, the motorcycles aren't really so ancient as they seem...I think they are Russian-made Urals, which themselves were copies of WWII-era BMW twin-cylinder motorcylces. If they ARE URals, the Urals are still being made and are actually being imported into the US at this time...someone even tried to ride one in the Iron Butt Association's Iron Butt Rally (11,000/11 days) in 2001.